Hermione the Gryffindor
by wowimanerd
Summary: Hermione doesn't think Harry should be the one who confronts the would-be thief of the Sorcerer's Stone. She was placed in Gryffindor for a reason and she will prove it.
1. Hermione's Decision

**Summary**: Hermione doesn't think Harry should be the one who confronts the would-be thief of the Sorcerer's Stone. She was placed in Gryffindor for a reason and she will prove it.

**Chapter 1: Hermione's Decision**

Hermione followed Harry past the defeated troll, holding her breath in a mixture of disgust from the foul scent permeating the air and apprehension of whatever trial awaits the remaining two first year students in this adventure behind the door in front of them. Once Hermione passed through the door she saw a table with several strange bottles sitting upon it. There were seven of them, all different shapes and sizes set up in a line. Hermione wondered what purpose they might have and, guessing that they were potions, she walked to the table intending to try her hand at identifying the concoctions. They were clearly an important part of this obstacle.

"Snape's," Harry said, his voice startling Hermione from her train of thought, "what do we have to do?" Hermione turned towards Harry, about to reply, when suddenly a purple fire burst into existence in the doorway Harry had previously stopped at. Hermione was certain that it had been waiting for Harry to over the threshold completely before it came into being. That must mean that the fire itself isn't the obstacle. If it were, the fire wouldn't have been held off for so long and Harry would certainly have caught fire. She was rather glad that had not happened.

A thought coming to her, Hermione turned back around seeing the doorway that led onward in the direction they had been traveling was also lit aflame. Curiously enough, the flames blocking that path were black rather than the purple color she would have expected it to share with the other fire. Knowing that there must be a clue of some kind in the room, Hermione returned her attention to the table. "Look," she said, spotting a roll of paper laying on the table next to the bottles. Picking it up, she began to read it, knowing Harry was behind her, reading over her shoulder.

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,  
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,  
One among us seven will let you move ahead,  
Another will transport the drinker back instead,  
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,  
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.  
Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,  
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:  
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide  
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;  
Second, different are those who stand at either end,  
But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend;  
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,  
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;  
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right  
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

Hermione smiled, glad to not be challenged by another magical creature or enchanted object. She was also excited to solve the riddle. "Brilliant! This isn't magic. It's logic, a puzzle," she was surprised to find such a thing in the wizarding world, especially here in the midst of their adventure, "a lot of the great wizards haven't gotten an ounce of logic. They'd be stuck in here forever"

"But so will we, won't we?" Harry's question made Hermione roll her eyes with a huff.

"Of course not! Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison, two are wine, one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us through the purple" Hermione had realized the significance of the different colored flames. They must have different characteristics, each only nullified by one of the two potions.

"But how do we know which one to drink?"

"Give me a minute," Hermione answered, already trying to solve the riddle in her head. She read the paper several times, walking up and down the line of bottles as she did so. Hermione was about to tell Harry that she had figured out the answer when she noticed a very important detail; the potion that would allow passage through the black flames was the smallest one on the table and that came with a significant drawback. There was no way it held more than one dose of the potion.

Eyes darting to Harry to see if he noticed her pause, which he hadn't fortunately, Hermione made a spur of the moment decision. Professor Snape tried to kill Harry, he hated the boy. If Hermione couldn't be there with him, Harry would likely not survive a confrontation with the sour faces professor. After all, Harry was not any more talented or knowledgeable in magic than the rest of the Hogwarts students in their year. Hermione _was. _Adding in the fact that Professor Snape's dislike for her did not even compare to his disdain for Harry and the best choice was obvious. But Harry would never agree to returning to help Ron while she faced the danger he felt was his own personal responsibility.

Hermione snapped out of her concentration and clapped, "got it! The rounded bottle at the right end will get us through the black fire, toward the stone while the smallest bottle will get us through the purple fire back where we entered from"

"Right then, let's drink the potion to go forward," Harry said, moving to grab the rounded bottle. Hermione was pleased with the trust he put in her to not even question the accuracy of her solution. Then she felt her heart sink as she remembered she had just betrayed that trust intentionally and was going to continue doing so for his own safety.

"Actually Harry, I think I should drink the other potion. There's only enough of it for one person so we wont both be able to leave once we've stopped Professor Snape. Also... if we can't stop him, at least this way he might not be able to escape until the other professors can arrive"

Harry didn't seem to know how to respond to that. Hermione could see on his face that he suspected her of trying to escape out of fear. If not for the situation, Hermione would be greatly offended; she was a Gryffindor too! She wasn't about to run away like a scared cat. But as it was, she could hardly be upset by his unspoken assumption of cowardice. The truth was that she _was _a coward. She was scared of losing her best friend who saved her from a troll earlier in the year and from the loneliness that had pervaded her life as far back as she could remember. She was so scared of losing him that she was breaking his trust in her and risking her own life to protect him.

"That makes sense, i guess," Harry finally spoke, ending the uncomfortable silence between the two friends, "you can check on Ron too on your way to get the professors. You should drink first" The nervousness in his voice lifting some of the guilt off of Hermione's shoulders. Harry didn't seem to want to do this either, at least not entirely. She nodded silently and drank her potion... the one that would let her walk through the black flames. She shivered as it went down, worrying Harry. "It's not poison, is it?"

"No, but it's like ice" she explained in the only way she could.

"Quick, go beforw it wears off," Harry's urgent voice gave Hermione the jumpstart she needed. She ran to Harry and hugged him tightly doing her beat to not give herself awayin her guilt through her voice, "I'm sorry, Harry" Knowing it was now or never, Hermione took off towards the black fire.

"Sorry? Wh- Hermione wait!" Harry asked in confusion before realizing Hermione was running towards the black fire. Not yet realizing what she had done, Harry chased after her, only to watch as she safely crossed through the fire beforw stopping and turning around to face him as he came to a stop just before the dark flames. "Hermione?" He said, the emotion in his voice tearing his friend apart from inside.

"I'm sorry, Harry" she said again through the flames, this time not even trying to mask the ever-growing guilt and fear she felt. She turned around and walked away from the doorway, unable and unwilling to hear Harry's response or explain her actions. Attempting to collect her thoughts, she took a deep breath before looking around the chamber. This was _not _what she expected.

**Author's Note:**

**Hello to anyone reading this. I'm new here and I'm testing the waters with my first fic. Let me know what you think and please give any advice you might have. In particular, I haven't written properly in the last couple years so certain grammar rules will likely pass me by so feel free to point out any errors so I can correct them. This will either be a Two-Shot or an extended story depending on how i feel after writing out what i have already planned in my mind. I don't want to spoil anything like I've seen done with quite a few fanfics through author's notes so, at least for now, i wont be giving any advanced warning in mine. Thanks for reading!**

**-wowimanerd**


	2. Hermione's Bravery

**Summary**: Hermione doesn't think Harry should be the one who confronts the would-be thief of the Sorcerer's Stone. She was placed in Gryffindor for a reason and she will prove it.

**Chapter 2: Hermione's Bravery**

Hermione was surprised. It was supposed to be Professor Snape who was trying to steal the Philisopher's Stone. Not Professor Quirrell. Hermione suddenly didn't feel so confident in her decision. She still wanted to protect Harry from the dangerous situation... but with part of her reasoning, Professor Snape's ire, now debunct she couldn't help but to lose some faith in herself. How could she have been so wrong? Before she could regain her bearings, the man turned to face her. Hermione thought he looked surprised, perhaps having expected Harry to have been the one to challenge him.

"Miss Granger, what a surprise to see _you _here," his voice lacked his perpetual stutter. Hermione wasn't sure if it had ever existed at all or if it had been a ruse from the start. She didn't know which would be worse. "Astounding really. To think that The-Boy-Who-Lived would send a bookworm in his place to save the day. Perhaps the sorting hat was wrong to place him in Gryffindor. After all, there's not a wizard in this castle who believes the hat placed _you_ in the correct house either. Your obsession with books and knowledge, the many hours you've spent in the library. I'm afraid all that effort and genius of yours will be wasted in the end when I kill you tonight"

Hermione gasped and couldn't react in time when Quirrell snapped his finger and rope appeared, wrapping around her body. "You're too nosey to live Granger," he spat "If only Potter and Weasley hadn't saved you from that useless distraction"

"You let the troll in?" Hermione asked, realizing she was facing the wizard who had endangered her life on Halloween. "Professor Snape stopped you didn't he? That's why he had that wound on his leg!" Quirrel scowled.

"Yes he did prove troublesome. I hadn't predicted his betrayal of our master. But you, Miss Granger. You may prove useful yet. This mirror," he went on, pointing toward the middle of the chamber "your clever little mind may help me solve its mystery. Come here girl"

Hermione stumbled as the ropes pulled her towards the mirror. She had an inkling as to what the mirror was. Ron had mentioned it before after having been shown to it by Harry. He had described his reflection as everything he wanted and she used that in her search for information on it. She ignored his hopeful guesses towards the mirror being capable of prophecy, not only was such a future for Ron... unlikely, Harry's reflection was simply impossible. Her research into magical mirrors, with a focus on one that connected to the users desires, had lead Hermione to a dreary passage about The Mirror of Erised, an enchanted mirror that many had wasted away before, not wanting to leave the image of their desires brought to life. If this was another obstacle, Hermione was sure Dumbledore would have found a way to use the mirror's ability to read the user's desires.

As she came to a stop, the ropes no longer pulling her along, Hermione found herself in fron of the dangerous mirror being questioned by Quirrel. "When I look into this mirror I see myself delivering the stone to my master. But It wont show me where the stone truly lays. What do you see, girl?"

Hermione glanced at the wizard first, thinking of what she would see. Nothing really came to mind; she was quite happy with her friends and family for the first time ever. The only things she could want for would be an end to this situation and perhaps access to the Hogwart's library over the summer. Looking into the mirror, she grows pale. Her reflection shows Hermione holding the Philospher's Stone. Her eyes dart to her own hands, relief filling her when the stone isn't there. The last thing she wants is for Quirrel to get the stone to Voldemort. Hermione looks back at her reflection and watches as her mirrored self places the stone on the floor and jumps on it, smashing it to pieces.

Hermione feels her fear slam back into her body as she again glances down. This time she did see the stone. It sat on the floor just between her shoes, thankfully hideen from Quirrell who stood to her right. "What do you see?" The Professor asked the young witch, getting no reply as she stood still, her eyes wide and her mind racing. "**What do you see?**" He shouted this time. Hermione remained quiet, only seeing one option and not liking it one bit.

"_Let _me_ speak to the girl" _a high voice came from her right. Surprised by the new arrival, Hermione turned her head to where it came from but only saw Quirrell.

"But master, you're not strong enough" Quirrell seemed scared.

"_I have strength enough for this_" Hermione was now horrified. Realizing who that voice belonged to. Who it was that Quirrel called master. The wizard unwrapped his turban and turned his back towards Hermione, revealing what seemed like a foul attempt at putting a second face on the back of the man's head.

"Voldemort" she uttered quietly, not knowing how he was there but unable to deny that he _was _there, in Hogwarts Castle, mere feet away from an artifact that could bring him back to life fully. Hermione knew what she had to do but she was scared. Maybe she shouldn't have been made a Gryffindo if she was unable to act through the fear at this most important time.

"_You dare speak my name, mudblood?" _The pale face seemed to hiss, its red eyes glaring at her, " _you will learn to fear me soon enough. But for now, you saw something, yes? Tell me. Where is the stone?"_ Hermione was frozen. The dark lord that had terrorized the country and orphaned her best friend was interrogating her. She knew this ended in torture and death. And if she didn't act now, it also ended in his revival. Working up her courage she spoke up.

"Professor Quirrell was wrong. I am a Gryffindor" Voldemort's distorted face showed confusion before anger flashed in his eyes as he witnessed the young witch's final act. Jumping into the air, revealing the stone for a mere second to Voldemort's red eyes, Hermione slammed her feet into the Sorcerer's Stone. Shards flew in every direction and Hermione stumbled to the ground, not able to keep her balance with her body still tied by rope. Before she could make an attempt at escape, she felt her body erupt in pain. It felt like it went on forever, her nerves set ablaze in an eternal fire. Hermione couldn't think. Her mind was completely overwhelmed with pain. Eventually it bled away, leaving her pinfully sore body with tremors. Looking open with eyes full of tears and desperation, Hermione sees Voldemort. The evil wizard has Quirrel's wand in hand, his red eyes blazing with hatred. She could tell Voldemort was channeling too much magic for his host to handle. She was glad that he would lose not only the Elixir of life but also his host. She wished she could see Harry and Ron and her parents one last time, but she would be content with the knowledge that she had saved Harry from Voldemort, at least for now.

Looking into those evil red eyes, Hermione somehow managed a smile with that last thought. Voldemort, angered by her response to his torture, cast one last curse before exploding from Quirrell's body in a black mist and flying off. Minutes later, Harry arrived with Dumbledore to the chamber in which the Philosopher's Stone was hidden. Tears came to Harry's eyes as they came across the lifeless form of Hermione the Gryffindor.

**Author's Note:**

**Well that was the extent of what i had planned for this. Still thinking on whether or not i want to continue or end it here. As before, any advice is appreciated. I'll try to either start another story or continue this one soon.**


End file.
